Locking handwheels



Sept. 29, 1931. H, D, GEYER 1,825,390

LOCKING HANDWHEELS Filed Dec. 11l 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 u hb3 if? I l 3g f5 I Sept. 29, 1931. H. D. GEYER ,1,825,390

`LOCKING HANDWHEELS Filed Dec. l1, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ay.. J. @7. 4

Patented Sept. 29, 1931 ,UNITED STATES 1 lfrei1ir OFFICE HARVEY n.GEYER, or DAYTON, OHIO, AssIGNOR To THE INLAND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, onDAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION or nnLAwAnn LOOKING HANDWHEELs Applicationled ADecember 11, 1924. Serial Noi. 755,185.

Thisv invention relates; to locking handwheels and is especially adaptedfor steering wheels 'for motor vehicles to prevent unauthorized usethereof.

' 5 This invention embodies a number of improvements over the lockingwheel disclosed v in application, Serial No. 755,182, by Harvey D. Geyerand Alva W. Scott, filed December 11, 1924.

An object of this invention, is to provide a positive safety means forpreventing theraccidental` displacement of the locking bolt from itsdriving Vposition in the Vevent ofv breakage ofthe spring whichordinarily holds :i6 the bolt in driving position, or fromother possiblecauses. y A more specific object is to provide such a safety means onthe lock itself by only a slight change in the structure thereof, where-H by additional mechanism and consequent complication is avoided and avery eective safety means is provided.

Further objects and advantages of the pres ent invent-ion will beapparent from the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of embodiment of thepresent invention is clearly shown. Y

In the drawings: i

Fig. ,lis a vertical section on linel-l of Fig. 2 showingl the inventionembodied in a loose locking steering wheel for automobiles.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-8 of Figs. 1 and 2, but shows thelook barrel and bolt shaft in elevation.` e

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the lock showing the barrel in itsnon-rotary or safety position that occurs when the bolt is in drivingposition as shown in Fig. 2."

Figs. 6 and 7 are similar to Figs. 4 and 5 but show the barrel in theposition where it can be rotated by means of the lock key;

Fig. 8 is an end view looking in the direction of arrow 8 of Fig. 6. l.

Fig. 9 is a detail ofthe fixed plate which cooperates with the rotarybarrel to form a stop means therefor.

In the drawings similar reference characf ters refer to similar partsthroughout the several views.

. The invention'has been illustrated as embodied in a loose lockingsteering wheel for automotive vehicles.l The central portion of themetal spider of the VVhandwheel is shown at 11 and the automobilesteering'shaft with which itV is' associated at l2.v The'steering shaft12 has an upper tapered end l'and a threaded portion 14 at its topmostend. A socketed journal head 15'fits snugly down over the tapered end'13 and'is suitably keyed thereto bythe key 16. Around nut 2O is screweddown upon the threaded end 14 which thus firmly anchors the head 15against axial removal from shaft 12.

VrA hardened steel shell member 25 is ournaled upon the head A15 and nut2O by means of the upperball'bearing 21 and the lower ball bearing22, asclearly illustrated in Fig. 1. Y This shell member 25 is provided with abottom cover plate-26 which has threaded engagement therewith as shownat 27, which threaded engagement permits the proper adjustmentof theball bearings 21 and 22 at any time, as will bereadilyl understood fromthe drawings.

The head 15 is provided with one-or more lateral recesses 28' (threebeing shown in Fig. 2.) to receive a locking bolt 3() for locking theshell 25 fixed to said head 15 or to permit relative lrotationtherebetween. The bolt 30 (preferably made of three layers of stampedsheet steel as shownl in Fig. 2) is rigidly fixed upon the bolt pin 3l,the ends of which pin 31 serve as journals for mount ing the bolt inthe' protective shell 25 so that it may be swung to various positions inthe bolt chamber 32 aswill presently be described (see Fig. 1).

A key controlledbarrel lock 35 is mounted at one end of pin 31 and therotatable barrel 36 of said lock is held in drivingengage;

' vment with pin 31 by the flat lug 37, extending in Fig. 3. This cutaway metal is replaced by a hardened steel bushing 40 which is pressedinto place and held retained in its proper position by the driven pin 42whose outer end lies flush with the bottom of shell 25 and hence cannotbe removed by a thief after once being driven in place. The stationarybushing of lock 5 is permanently held in place in the steel bushing 40by a small driven pin 43 as clearly shown in Fig. 2. It will be clearfrom Figs. 1 and V2 that the bushing 40 must have an arcuate portion 44cut out of one side thereo'l2 in order to clear the head 15, and asecond and deeper arcuate portion 45 cut out in order to clear thebottom cover plate 26 and so permit its assembly upon the shell 25.

A coil spring 46 surrounds pin 31 and has one end secured to said pinwhile the opposite end is held stationary by means of the fixed pin 48.This coil spring 46 urges bolt 30 to rotate in a clockwise direction (asviewed in Fig. 1) into recess 28 and thus fix the steering wheel indriving position upon shaft 12 as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

The barrel lock will now be described.

The rotatable barrel 36 ot the lock is held against rotation by theordinary lock tumblers 100 when key 49 is withdrawn. When the key 49 isinserted therein (as shown in Figs. 6 and 7) the barrel 36 ma-y berotated by means ot the key, all as is well known in the art. Thisinvention however provides for a sliding movement of the barrel 36whereby a positive stop is provided at a predetermined position of saidbarrel even though the key remains inserted. For this purpose a liatplate 101 having a straight edge 102 is fixed to the stationary bushing35 of the lock as clearly shown in Fig. 8. The projecting driving head103 of the rotary barrel 36 is provided with a flange 104 which overliesthe straight edge 102 of plate 101 and thus prevents the outward slidingmovement of barrel 36 except in one position of said barrel 36. When inthis certain position a small flat 105 on flange 104 registers with thestraight edge 102 as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 8. and it is obviousfrom the drawings that the barrel 36 may now slide outward a shortdistance until the lug 106 engages the top of plate 101 as clearly shownin Fig. 5. IVhen the barrel 36 is in its out position, as shown in Figs.4 and 5, the cooperating llats 102 and 105 will positively prevent anyrotation of said barrel. In order that they barrel 36 may be turned bythe key 49 it is necessary that the barrel 36 be pressed by the key 49to its in position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. whereupon the barrel 36may be rotated in either direction by the key 49 since the iange 104will then lie above the plate 101 and the flats 102 and 105 consequentlydo not engage. In the application of this improved form of barrel lockwith the mechanism which is to be operated thereby a yieldable means isarranged to urge the barrel 36 to its out or safety position. With suchan arrangement it is obvious that as soon as the 'lats 102 and 105register when the key 49 is turned the barrel 36 will automatically snapinto its out or safety position.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the barrel 36 iscontinuously urged to its out position by the small coil spring 107contained in the central recess in the bolt sbai't 31 (see Fig. 2).Preferably a small plunger 10S having a shank extending within the coilspring 107 is provided to give a good bearing contact between the spring107 and the end of the flat driving lug 37. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 thelock bolt 30 is shown in driving position, that is, the steering wheelis fixed upon the shaft 12. When bolt 30 is in this position the flats105 and 102 are in register and hence the barrel 36 is urged by thesmall coil spring 107 to its out position as clearly shown. The Hats 105and 102 will now positively prevent the bolt 30 irom being jarred outo'l engagement with the recess 28 in the event of the vbreakage of themain coil spring 46 and thus the bolt 30 is positively held in safedriving position, the key 49 remaining in the lock.

In order to render the wheel loose or inoperative the operatorirst'presses the key inwardly until the barrel 36 slides to the positionshown in Figs. 6 and 7 against the urge of the small spring 107 and thenswings the bolt 30 about 180 degrees to the position 30', (shown indotted lines in Fig. 1) by means of key 49 and then withdraws the keyfrom the lock. The lock tumblers 100 will then engage with the barrel 36in the ordinary manner and hold the bolt 30 in its inoperative positionand thus prevent any unauthorized use of the machine. In order to againrender the wheel operative the key 49 is inserted in the lock to releasethe tumblers 100 whereupon main spring 46 will swing bolt 30 againstthehea'd 15. The wheel is then rotated until one of the recesses 28registers with the bolt 30 whereupon bolt 30 will snap into the recess28, after which the lock barrel 36 is automatically pressed out tosafety position by the small spring 107.

The method of assembling the parts of the wheel lock mechanism togetherand attaching it to the steering shaft will now be described. Theprotective shell 25 is inverted and the ball bearing 21 and nut 20inserted therein, the bolt 30 being in the position 30. The socketedhead is next dropped in against the nut and the bolt 30 swung into oneof the recesses 28. The bottom cover plate 26 and the ball bearing 22are then inserted and the cover plate 26 is screwed into the shell untilthe proper adjustment of both ball bearings 21 and 22 is obtained. A

small set screw 53 accessible from the outside may be provided forholding the exact adjustment of cover plate 26. Now when the bolt 30 isagain swung to its inoperative position 30 it will be impossible tounscrew the cover plate 26 more than half a revolution at most, sinceone or more lugs 5() (two being shown in Fig. 1) are provided-upon theinner surface of cover plate 26, which lugs will strike the heel of bolt30 as clearly shown by the dotted lines 30 in Fig. 1. It is thus obviousthat a thief cannot remove cover plate 26 and disassemble the wheel whenbolt 30 is in inoperative position.

The steering wheel spider 11 is preferably att-ached to the protectiveshell 25 after the above described assembly has been made. The metalspider 11 is rigidlysecured to the shell 25 by the two screw bolts 54and thus the spider 11 and shell 25 become in effect a single structure.

The assembled wheel is attached to the steering shaft 12 as follows. Theassembled wheel is placed over the tapered end of shaft 12 with a lrey16 in its proper position the top thread of the threaded, portion 14abutting the bottom thread of nut 20. Y This round nut 20 has its lowerouter edge cut awayin order to clear the path of bolt 30 as clearlyshown in Fig. 1. A short lug 60 rigid with nut 20- projects into thiscut-away annular groove G1 lying between nut 2O and head 15. When bolt30 is rotated countercloclrwise 90 degrecs from the full line positionof Fig. 1 to the position 30, the toe 62 of bolt 3() will lie in theannular groove 61 and therefore will engage the lug 60 if the wheel isrevolved relative to the nut 20. The wheel may now be turned looselyabout head 15 since the bolt 3() is entirely out of engagement with head15 and thus the bolt 30'will act as a wrench to screw nut 20 down uponthe threaded portion 14 of shaft 12 until head 15 is Vpressed home uponthe tapered portion 13. This intermediate position 30 of bolt- 30 Vmaybe termed the assembly position of the bolt since it is used only inassembling or disassembling the wheel and shaft. Obviously the wheel maybe removed from the shaft only by one in possession of the key sinceotherwiseI the bolt cannot be turned to its assembly position 30".

The horn button and horn switch mechanism 74 shown in the drawings formno part of the invention claimed in this appli cation and hence are notdescribed in detail herein. It is obvious however that the presence orabsence of this horn switch mechanism does not affect the method ofoperation or of assembly of the lock mechanism as described hereinabove.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as hereindisclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood thatother forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claimswhich follow.

*What is claim-ed is as follows Incombination, va lockingbolt, al lockfon-actuating said bola-said lock comprising .a fixed `bushing .and arotary barrel therein,

Voperable by a key. said barrel being recipro cat-ablewithin saidbushing to a non-rotatable or safety position when the bolt is in alpredetermined position. and means for automatically'movin-g saidbarrelto said safety position, whereby a positive stop is provided forpreventing the accidental displacement of said bolt from saidpredetermined position.

2. In combination, a lockingbolt, a lock having a rotary barrel and afixed bushing, a driving connection between said barrel and bolt wherebysaid bolt is actuated, said barrel being reciprocatable within saidbushing to a non-rotary position when at a predetermined rotary settingwhereby` said bolt vis held against actuation when in said predeterminedsetting.

3. In combination, a locking bolt, a lock having a rotary barrel and afixed bushing, a driving connection between said barrel and boltwherebysaid bolt is actuated, said barrel being reciprocatable withinsaid bushing to a' non-rotary position whereby'said bolt is held againstactuation when in a predetermined position, and means for automaticallyreciprocating said barrel to its non-rotary posi` tion when said bolt ismoved to said predetermined position.

4. A tumbler lock having a rotary barrel and a fixed bushing therefor;lsaid barrel having a driving head projecting from the inner end of saidbushing, means associated with said driving head for permitting alslight longitudinal movement o-f said barrel when at a predeterminedrotary setting and for preventing rotary mov-ement of said barrel aftertle longitudinal movement thereof has taken p ace.

5. In combination, a tumbler lock having a rotary barrel and a fixedbushing therefor, a member having driving connection Vwith said barrelwhereby said member is rotated to a plurality of positions, said 'barrelbeing reciprocatable within said bushing to a nonrotary position whensaid member is in a. predetermined position, whereby said member ispositively held against accidental movement when in said predeterminedposition.

6. A tumbler lock having a rotary barrel and a xed bushing therefor,said barrel being position within said bushing at a predetermined rotarysetting thereof, and safety means for positively preventing rotarymovement of said barrel when in said axially extended position.

7 A tumbler lock having a rotary barrel and a relatively fixed bushingtherefor, a plurality of divided tumblers arranged in normally opposedrecesses in said barrel and capable of an axial extension from itsnormal Leesaoo bushingrespectively for normally holding said barrellocked to said bushing, said barrel being also capable of an axialmovement from its normal position Within said bushing When 5 saidtumbler divisions are in alignment by :L suitable key, and springmeansfor urging said barrel into an axially moved position Wherent saidnormally opposed tumbler recesses are not opposed.

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature.

HARVEY D. GE YER.

